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Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Just over six years ago, I was stuck at home, bored and alone, while trying to recover from a severe, sudden illness that forced me to leave university. I had nothing to do but watch TV, the house was in an upheaval as we had just moved the past Fall, and I had nothing to truly say I was accomplishing from day to day. I was bored, to put it lightly, and without a car or much money I needed something to do at home that was useful (a girl can only clean so much). I started watching the Food Network more, which got me itching to get back into the kitchen and see if I could make things that fit my new food intolerances and allergies that still tasted decent, if not delicious.

The family wasn't overly intrigued by my tales of what I was cooking up or interested in eating a meal that I had made, though. Then I stumbled onto the world of food blogging and became an avid reader, taking delight in that there were other food obsessed people like me, who actually put themselves out there and weren't ashamed to put their food on display. Eventually, on Canada Day 2007, What Smells So Good? was born, and I haven't looked back. The blog has followed me through relationships, three schools, numerous jobs and over 1000 recipes, and I'm so thankful each and every day that readers gave me a chance to grow and develop my skills. Joining Twitter connected me even more with foodies I admired and allowed me to reach out for help when I needed it - and I'm glad to say I've met a handful of my contacts and they were all as wonderful in person as they were online. When #RecipeRedux and #SundaySupper came along, I really felt part of a family, and the other events I take part in solidify it even more.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, this is my "happy blog anniversary to me" shindig. I was late this year, and didn't bring pie like my first two anniversaries, but I did something fun instead - funfetti! Are you sick of funfetti everything yet? I wouldn't normally toss the rainbow sprinkles into this cookie dough, since it already had two types of chips (and is basically a mashup of junk food with a smattering of nutrition), but this was my "farewell" gift to the kids at school on the last day - each cookie in it's own little bag with the child's name on the tag - and it was a celebration as much as it was a sad day. Ironically, I made these based off a Paula Deen recipe shortly before the snafu broke (and I'm keeping my opinions to myself on that one), but made enough variations to the original that I'll share my version.

These were also part and parcel of my "use it up" movement, with all our sprinkles, leftover "birthday party" potato chips, and other random items! I made my cookies dairy free and part whole grain, as well as using low sodium chips and a squish of honey (plus the obvious chocolate and sprinkles). Not something I'd make often, but hey, it's an anniversary party, right?